Almanack Contributor Linda Friedman Ramirez

Kelly Griffin Petrie has been a businesswoman here in the North Country for nearly 20 years.  Kelly is here at her Studio 30 in Saranac Lake.   

Businesswomen in the Adirondacks

Owning and operating a business is not for the faint of heart. Just consider the difficulties the pandemic presented!  But women in the Adirondacks do not shy from the challenge. Curiously, it wasn’t until  New York Congressman John LaFalce introduced legislation in 1988 that eliminated laws requiring women in some states to have a male relative sign a business loan.  The goal of that law, HR 5050: Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (“WBOA”) was to aid the success of women business owners.   The law established the National Women’s Business Council to review the status of women-owned businesses nationwide and to develop detailed multi-year plans to assist and promote such businesses.  ^[1]

Fast forward 35 years.  There are now more than 10 million women owned non-employer (no paid employees) firms, for a share of 41% of all nonemployer businesses in the US.    The US Census also maintains some details about women business ownership. Women Business Ownership in America On the Rise. In FY 22, the Small Business Administration, in its Upstate New York District alone, made 92 traditional loans to woman-owned businesses,  with a total value of $32.3 million.   Katrina Ballard, the Women’s Business Liaison at the SBA office in Syracuse, pointed out that the SBA microloan program is  a good option for women entrepreneurs who are looking for small dollar loans of up to $50,000.  In FY22, the SBA Upstate New York district office made 23 such microloans totaling $468,000 to woman-owned small businesses

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